The Jewel of Seven Stars eBook

“All is now ready in this place. We must
only await the proper time to begin.”

We were silent for a while. Doctor Winchester
was the first to speak:

“What is the proper time? Have you any
approximation, even if you are not satisfied as to
the exact day?” He answered at once:

“After the most anxious thought I have fixed
on July 31!”

“May I ask why that date?” He spoke his
answer slowly:

“Queen Tera was ruled in great degree by mysticism,
and there are so many evidences that she looked for
resurrection that naturally she would choose a period
ruled over by a God specialised to such a purpose.
Now, the fourth month of the season of Inundation
was ruled by Harmachis, this being the name for ‘Ra’,
the Sun-God, at his rising in the morning, and therefore
typifying the awakening or arising. This arising
is manifestly to physical life, since it is of the
mid-world of human daily life. Now as this month
begins on our 25th July, the seventh day would be
July 31st, for you may be sure that the mystic Queen
would not have chosen any day but the seventh or some
power of seven.

“I dare say that some of you have wondered why
our preparations have been so deliberately undertaken.
This is why! We must be ready in every possible
way when the time comes; but there was no use in having
to wait round for a needless number of days.”

And so we waited only for the 31st of July, the next
day but one, when the Great Experiment would be made.

Chapter XVII
Doubts and Fears

We learn of great things by little experiences.
The history of ages is but an indefinite repetition
of the history of hours. The record of a soul
is but a multiple of the story of a moment. The
Recording Angel writes in the Great Book in no rainbow
tints; his pen is dipped in no colours but light and
darkness. For the eye of infinite wisdom there
is no need of shading. All things, all thoughts,
all emotions, all experiences, all doubts and hopes
and fears, all intentions, all wishes seen down to
the lower strata of their concrete and multitudinous
elements, are finally resolved into direct opposites.

Did any human being wish for the epitome of a life
wherein were gathered and grouped all the experiences
that a child of Adam could have, the history, fully
and frankly written, of my own mind during the next
forty-eight hours would afford him all that could be
wanted. And the Recorder could have wrought
as usual in sunlight and shadow, which may be taken
to represent the final expressions of Heaven and Hell.
For in the highest Heaven is Faith; and Doubt hangs
over the yawning blackness of Hell.